


Of Bricks and Mortar

by BiggestPranksterGangsterOfAllTime



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Caduceus-centric, Childhood, Childhood Memories, Childhood Trauma, Pre-Canon, Sibling Rivalry, Siblings, cad has some sort of childhood trauma and I will not let anything change my mind, colton is the asshole of the clays, no beta I’m independent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:13:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27599411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BiggestPranksterGangsterOfAllTime/pseuds/BiggestPranksterGangsterOfAllTime
Summary: A collection of Caduceus’ childhood experiences, from soft fluff to straight up trauma. Lots of headcanons and Clay family content ahead.Aka I decided there wasn’t enough content for the other Clays or Caduceus’ childhood.
Comments: 23
Kudos: 68





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Some basics for this fic-  
> Constance is a fighter  
> Cornelius is a paladin  
> Corrin is a cleric  
> Colton is the oldest and will become a fighter  
> Calliope is the second oldest and becomes a paladin  
> Clarabelle is the youngest and shows promise as a paladin.

“Constance, you need a break.”

Corrin’s voice broke through the loud wailing coming from the small bedroom, making Constance’s weary eyes look up to meet her older sister’s. Corrin had a concerned look in her eyes, with perhaps a hint of disapproval.

“I have two rowdy kids learning to  _ swordfight _ running around, on top of having a newborn baby that cries as soon as I leave the room. Dear sister, ‘break’ isn’t in my vocabulary right now,” laughed Constance tiredly, nodding towards the bedroom where the cries were coming from.

“Well, Caduceus is going to have to learn that he’s going to be alone every once in a while eventually. And your husband has Calliope and Colton under wraps. Even if they get hurt, I am here to heal them.” Corrin stepped over to her sister, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You’ve barely slept. And I know you’re still worried something will happen.”

“Of course I am,” sighed Constance, “You were there. Caduceus barely made it. And… he’s just so small. And pale, and-“

“ _ Constance _ .” Interrupted Corrin, her gaze firm. “He’ll make it. With crying that loud, he won’t be dying anytime soon. Your worrying won’t do him any good if you’re too tired to pay attention. Take the day. I’ll take care of Caduceus. Even if he cries the whole time.” Corrin gave her younger sister a smile, squeezing her shoulder.

Constance hesitated, but eventually let herself smile vaguely, nodding. “Okay. You’re right. I’ll rest.” Constance walked to the exit of their home, “-right after I check on the rest of them.”

Corrin rolled her eyes, stepping into Caduceus’ room and approaching the crib. Sure enough, the newborn was still crying loudly, little hands balled into fists. 

Corrin reached into the crib and brushed her fingers across the light fuzz of Caduceus’s cheek, making him look up at her. His crying stopped briefly to analyze his aunt curiously, but at the realization that Corrin wasn’t his mother, he burst back into tears.

Corrin frowned, lifting the young firbolg into her arms, rocking him slowly. She could see why Constance was so worried. He was the palest baby she’d seen out of the Clay family, and was significantly smaller than Colton or Calliope had been. She remembered the scare they all had when he was born - Caduceus struggling to breathe and nearly silent the whole time. The kids, of course, weren’t there until Corrin had gotten Caduceus stable- but Constance and Cornelius were scared half to death.

The child’s whimpers only let up a little, fingers curling around fistfuls of Corrin’s shirt. Corrin hushed him, pacing around the crib as she tried not to let her own fears grow. 

She was worried for her sister. She was worried for Cornelius. And she was worried for Caduceus. She knew Caduceus’ parents were having a hard time forgetting their youngest son’s rough birth, and she knew that there was indeed a chance Caduceus could die. He was small, weak, and if he got sick… that might just be it for him.

Caduceus was still crying into Corrin’s chest. Constance wasn’t lying when she said that he’d cry until she appeared. Yet another anomaly Caduceus seemed to have- severe separation anxiety. 

“Now, now, there’s no need to keep crying... you’re safe. Your aunty’s here. See? Shh…” cooed Corrin, bouncing Caduceus as she continued her trek around the crib.

The little firbolg’s tear-filled eyes blinked up at Corrin as his crying finally stopped. The newborn simply stared at his aunt, letting go of the grip he had on her shirt. 

Corrin grinned fondly at him, carrying him out of the bedroom and out into the graveyard.

“Look who decided to calm down.” Corrin proudly declared, catching the attention of the other four firbolgs.

Constance immediately smiled and rushed over to her baby, wiggling her fingers in front of Caduceus, who grasped at them with a soft babble.

“How’d you do it?” Constance breathed in awe.

“He just needed a little walk, is all.”

“Well, I suppose attention is attention for him,” Constance remarked, glad that there was at least one other person that could soothe her son’s crying.

Soon, Corrin felt several tugs at her pants, and she glanced down, seeing Calliope and Colton at her legs, looking up with wide eyes. 

“Can I please hold him, now that you got him to stop crying?” Calliope asked, giving an impatient look. “He  _ always _ cries and you never ever let me hold him. You let Colton hold me when I was little!” Calliope scrunched up her nose.

“I’m older, I should get to hold him before you.” Colton argued, shooting his sister a harsh look. 

“You can both hold him, but Calliope asked nicely. She’ll hold him first.” Corrin slowly sat in the grass, Calliope plopping to her left side and Colton scooting up to her left. 

Calliope smiled triumphantly, carefully settling the baby firbolg into her arms. She looked down at Caduceus, then met Corrin’s eyes. “How come he doesn’t have pink hair?”

Constance chuckled, sitting across from the kids and Corrin with Cornelius. “His hair will be pink, it just needs to grow in. We aren’t born with much hair on our heads, honey.”

“Oh. Okay.” A pause. “This is boring, you can hold him, Colton.”

The three adults shared a laugh as Corrin picked Caduceus up and slowly set him into Colton’s hold.

Colton adjusted Caduceus in his grip, looking a little tense. Caduceus took one look at Colton’s stern expression, and immediately began wailing again.

Calliope seemed very amused by this, giggling hysterically, “He doesn’t like yoooouu!”

“Shut up, Calliope! He’s a baby, they cry all the time!” Colton argued, a big pout on his face.

“Don’t tell your sister to shut up,” scolded Constance, plucking the baby from his brother’s grasp. “I’m sure Caduceus just isn’t used to being held by so many people at once. I think it’s naptime, anyway.” With that, she swiftly stood, her and Cornelius going to return Caduceus to his crib.

Colton crossed his arms with a  _ ‘hmph’ _ , and Corrin patted his back comfortingly. He looked up at her, then silently got closer, leaning up against her side. Calliope had gotten up and began gathering up their wooden practice swords, putting them back in the box they belonged in by the house.

“Don’t worry. He’ll warm up to you. Don’t take a baby’s crying too personally, okay?” Corrin’s soft voice came after a beat of silence.

“I don’t care about a dumb baby,” mumbled Colton.

“Maybe,” Corrin scratched her cheek, “But you  _ do  _ care about your little brother. It’s okay to be upset that he cried, just know that he doesn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

Colton gave his aunt a little vulnerable look, then shook his head, quickly running into the house, probably to his and Calliope’s room.

Corrin sighed, picking herself off of the ground and making her way to meet her sister. Colton always was a little grumpy, but it seemed even worse around Caduceus. Maybe he didn’t like that he wasn’t the only son anymore. She hoped he’d get over it, for all of their sakes.

By the time she got inside, Cornelius and Constance had already left Caduceus in the crib and closed the door so that hopefully nothing made him cry. Corrin took her sister’s hand.

“Well, that was a fun little adventure, but I do recall you promising to take a break.” Corrin smirked lightly.

“I didn’t exactly  _ promise _ , but I see your point. I’ll go lay down.” Constance confirmed with a yawn, shuffling off to her own room.

Cornelius and Corrin shared a look and a small chuckle, before Cornelius went to keep his wife company and Corrin went to sit at the dining table.

Not ten seconds later, the familiar sound of crying made Corrin place her face in her hands.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cornelius is good with older children, not so much with babies.

“You’re  _ cheating _ , Calliope! No low blows!” Colton snapped at his younger sister, throwing his wooden practice sword to the grass in frustration.

“I’m just better than you at this!” Calliope bragged, still holding her wooden sword in the stance her mother had always taught her.

“You are  _ not! _ You only win because you cheat! You’re not supposed to hit my legs!”

“Yeah, well, I’d hit a bad guy’s legs! And we’re doing this to beat bad guys!”

Cornelius shook his head a little, a small smile on his lips as he listened to his oldest children bicker. They were both shaping up to be decent fighters, Colton especially showing talent with a sword. Though, they both tended to pick and choose which rules were ‘actually’ important- and that usually caused conflict. Every. Single. Training session.

Cornelius shifted Caduceus in his hold, who was squirming quite a bit in the blanket he was wrapped in. Caduceus had barely gotten any bigger over the past months. He was small, but compared to Cornelius, the second tallest and biggest in build, Caduceus was absolutely  _ tiny. _ So much so that a part of Cornelius always worried he’d somehow accidentally hurt Caduceus. His wife and sister-in-law were less cautious than him, not for a lack of care but an abundance of skill in the area, while Cornelius  _ still _ struggled to feel like he was doing enough to keep Caduceus safe.

“Kids, kids. When we’re actually fighting bad guys, we’re supposed to do whatever we need to, so we can be safe. But right now we’re not really fighting bad guys, are we? So we gotta follow the rules, yeah?” Cornelius let his voice interrupt the children’s sniping. They both looked over, their arguing stopped for the moment.

Calliope frowned deeply, her grip on the wood sword tightening. Colton seemed satisfied, though, picking his own sword back up to try continuing training. Calliope looked a little upset.

Cornelius immediately noticed his daughter’s distress, so he quickly added, “It’s good that you know that we have to fight against people who want to hurt us. And your form is good. Mom’ll be proud of that.” Colton opened his mouth to say something, but Cornelius stopped him by saying, “She’ll be proud of both of you. You’re both doing real good. Just try again, okay?”

The two kids looked at each other, then relented their pride and began sparring again. A little whimper near Cornelius’ chest made him look down, and he saw that Caduceus was fully awake now, and getting antsy.

“You’re a little young to be sword fighting  _ just _ yet, but how about we work on crawling a little?” Cornelius carefully unwrapped Caduceus from the pale blanket, placing him on the soft grass on his hands and knees. 

Caduceus nearly toppled over, but Cornelius caught him, repositioning him back on the ground. He knew that Caduceus had to start actually crawling soon. He was way behind where his siblings were at this age. In fact, his development has been consistently late. Less growth, less babbling, and less moving around. Sure, he crawled every once in a while, but those times were few and far between, and usually not for very long.

“C’mon, kiddo, doesn’t crawling seem fun? You get to move all on your own.” Cornelius tried to persuade, letting go of Caduceus to let him move. His voice was a little awkward and strained. Cornelius held his breath.

Caduceus shuffled around, and crawled right back into his Cornelius’ lap.

Cornelius smiled, picking up Caduceus by the armpits gently. “Well, that  _ was _ crawling, but I meant somewhere a little further away.”

Caduceus’ big eyes looked up at his father, and he reached forward, a tiny hand tangling in one of Cornelius’ grayish braids. Cornelius didn’t stop him, knowing that Caduceus wasn’t as much of a hair-puller as Calliope was.

“Okay, one more time. How about this?” Cornelius set Caduceus on the grass once more, taking one big step away, which was quite a way for the little firbolg. “Come to dada! C’mon, Caduceus! Come here!” Cornelius’ voice had a higher-pitched, playful tint to it, and he reached out his arms to beckon the child forward.

Caduceus looked up at his father, looked at the ground, and then at the distance between them. He sat down without even considering crawling over.

“Kiddo, over here!” Cornelius tried again. “Hey! Look! Come to dada!”

The coos caught Caduceus’ attention, and he looked up curiously. After a moment of processing, he crawled towards Cornelius, making the long journey across the grass to him.

“Yaaay! Look at you, big kid over here!” Cornelius praised, scooping up his youngest son and smiling broadly at him. “Good job!”

Caduceus usually didn’t smile or laugh all that often, he usually just stared, but this time, Cornelius’ enthusiasm got Caduceus to smile widely, waving his arms in excitement. His child’s happiness filled Cornelius with joy and pride, and maybe a bit of smugness that he had gotten a grin out of Caduceus when his wife and sister-in-law had failed earlier.

“ _ Ow!  _ That’s my head!  _ Dad, Colton hit me in the head! _ ” Whined Calliope, pointing at her brother accusingly.

“You were supposed to move! I thought you saw me!”

“You’re not supposed to hit that hard! That’s so mean!”

“I  _ didn’t _ hit you hard! Don’t be a baby!”

“I’m not a baby!”

Cornelius’ little victory had to be put on hold, he had parenting to do. Carrying his youngest on one arm, he stepped between the arguing children.

“Colton, say sorry for hurting your sister. Calliope, don’t hold onto that anger. Grudges get you nowhere, sweetheart.” Cornelius whipped out the dad voice, narrowing his eyes just a little at both of them.

“Sorry, Calliope. I won’t hit your big head next time.” 

“ _ Big?!” _ Calliope gasped in anger, throwing her sword aside and tackling her brother.

The two wrestled on the ground for a few moments, until Cornelius set their baby brother down, and picked them both up by the back of the shirts.

“Colton, Calliope, unless I need to  _ ground you _ , I’d start saying sorry  _ for real _ this time. Colton, you first.” Cornelius kept up the dad voice, nodding at his son to go ahead and say sorry.

“Okay! Fine!  _ Sorry. _ ” Colton didn’t seem that sincere, but that wasn’t really the point. He was mostly trying to get the two to stop fighting before someone needed healing.

“Sorry.” Snapped Calliope, her face twisted in annoyance.

“Good. Now, go inside. I think we’re done sparring for now.” With that, Cornelius set down his children and reached down to pick up Caduceus.

Who, he quickly realized, wasn’t there anymore.

A shot of panic going through his chest, Cornelius looked around for his youngest son. Nothing. 

Constance and Corrin were going to  _ kill  _ him.

“Uhh, kids. Look- look for your brother.” Mumbled Cornelius, once again taking a good look around the graveyard.

The two young firbolgs exchanged looks, but immediately began running around the yard, searching for their baby brother. Calliope looked more concerned than Colton, who was mostly searching just because his father had told him to.

Cornelius was already internally berating himself. He always had trouble with babies- rowdy, arguing kids he could deal with.  _ They  _ could understand speech. Babies? All  _ they _ did was go towards food or the shiniest toy. He wasn’t good with babies, if this current situation was anything to go off of.

A little flash of light gray near an open grave caught Cornelius’ attention, and he forced his body to move quicker than he felt he ever had before.

“ _ Caduceus! _ ” Cornelius hissed, as if that would stop his child from crawling into the hole.

He caught Caduceus right at the edge of the six foot deep open grave, yanking him back and preventing him from falling in. Caduceus seemed unbothered, his expression of innocence not changing as his frantic father kept him tightly in his hold.

Halfway to a heart attack, Cornelius managed to sputter, “Okay- Okay. I have a feeling we’ll need to bring out the baby gates soon. You’re a little escape artist, huh? Trying to- trying to run. Yeah. No more of that, buddy. I’m keeping an eye on you.” Cornelius sighed, forcing a smile and tickling Caduceus on his belly softly.

Caduceus squealed and giggled loudly, catching the attention of Constance, who had just left their house to check on the rest of her family. Constance leaned against the front wall, raising a brow at how far away her husband and youngest were.

“Taking a walk? Or are you showing him the Brawnfallow’s new grave already? You know, they’re bringing their grandfather here soon. Might want to keep our baby clear.” Constance had a faint tone of warning to her voice, and soon saw her husband walking towards her.

“No- I just-“ Cornelius began.

“He nearly fell in. It was kinda funny.” Calliope decided to add, coming up beside Constance and clinging to her pant leg.

“ _ What?” _

Cornelius felt his body go tense at the harsh, protective mom look he received.

Wildmother, help him.

“Well- Yeah, that’s what happened,  _ but- _ “

“ _ Cornelius _ .” Constance came forward, grabbing her husband by the sleeve and pulling him into their home.

Once they were separated from the kids and the door was shut, Constance turned on her heel and met her husband’s eyes. 

“Is he okay? What happened?” Her voice was surprisingly soft, more concerned than anything. Cornelius was thankful she wasn’t furious.

“He’s fine, he just- I guess he decided he wanted to crawl. A lot. I put him down for one minute, and he was halfway across the graveyard.” Cornelius explained, handing their youngest over to Constance.

“And he didn’t get hurt?”

“No, I caught him. He’s fine.”

Constance sighed, sitting at the dining table. “That’s good. The Wildmother was with you both.” 

“I’ll say.”

Silence.

“Constance?”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry.” Began Cornelius, eyes averting. “I know I should be good at this by now, honey, but- I’m just a big dope around babies. They’re so- so- fragile, and they don’t listen, and… I don’t want to get him hurt.”

“Sweetheart…” Constance mumbled, motioning for him to sit, which he did. She placed a hand over one of his. “You’re not a big dope. You’re just nervous. I’m scared I’ll get him hurt too. I don’t always know what I’m doing, either. Sometimes, I have to look to the Wildmother for guidance. Sometimes I look to you for strength. Because I know at heart you both love our son so much.”

“I do love him,” Cornelius nodded. “I do. And… I want to keep him safe. If anything happened to him under my watch-“ 

“Nothing will happen.”

“If it  _ did _ ,” Cornelius went on, “I’d have a hard time forgiving myself. I’ve dealt with two babies before. You’d think I’d be good at this.”

Constance looked at her husband with sympathy, then brought his hand to her lips and kissed it. “We will all love you regardless of what happens. You’re just nervous around something so delicate, that’s all. And it’s worse now because you know Caduceus had a tough time when he was born. Being afraid- that’s natural. You know that.”

Cornelius pressed a kiss to Constance’s temple. “I know. Thanks, honey. You always know how to cheer me up. Can you forgive me for letting him out of my sight?”

“Of course,” Constance assured. 

Cornelius let out a sigh of relief.

“But if it happens again, I might have to kill you.”

And there was that deep fear again. Cornelius must have looked horrified, because Constance burst out in laughter, placing a hand on his arm.

“Kidding!”

Cornelius laughed in return, happily smiling at his wife, then at his now-sleeping youngest son. He’d keep his eye on him. He wouldn’t let him out of his sight. That, he promised to himself.

He wouldn’t leave Caduceus alone again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Clays make the mistake of letting Caduceus out of their sight - part two. But this time with more salt, shenanigans, and funerals.

Colton wasn’t happy, not at all.

He was glaring daggers at his little brother, a big frown on his face. He hated his brother.  _ Hated _ . He was loud when he should be quiet, and quiet when they tried to make him talk. He could barely walk, and he always got all the attention like he was something special. He wasn’t anything special. He was just some  _ toddler.  _

“Why do  _ I  _ have to watch him?” Grumbled Colton, moving his angry stare from Caduceus to his parents.

“It’s not just  _ you  _ watching him, it’s you  _ and _ your sister.” Constance countered, adjusting the collar of her shirt. “Your father, your aunt, and I are going to be busy all day with the funerals. And Caduceus doesn’t need to be there with the grieving families.”

“But, mom-“ Colton began, fists balled at his sides. 

“Colton, maybe you’ll warm up to him if you actually spend time with him.” Constance briefly glanced at her oldest child. “You’re going to have to learn to get along with him eventually. He’s your brother. Just try, honey. Maybe he’ll surprise you and you’ll really like him.”

“I  _ won’t _ like him.” Colton stubbornly growled, narrowed eyes falling on his brother and sister.

His siblings were sitting among a pile of toys, Calliope chatting softly with her little brother. Caduceus was picking up each toy, inspecting it, and happily giving it to Calliope. Calliope reacted with enthusiastic gratefulness every time, placing the toys in her lap as they came into her possession. Calliope obviously thought the endless gift-giving was cute or endearing. Colton didn’t think that at all. If anything, it was stupid. Not playing with your own toys and instead giving them to someone else? What kind of kid did that?

“Colton, dear, we don’t need you to like him right now, we need you to watch him,” Corrin added for her sister, kneeling down in front of Colton. Colton watched in distress as his parents rushed out of the room, presumably outside to the burials. 

Corrin turned to the eldest child, “It must be hard to feel like we’re giving Caduceus more attention. But we love you both the same. Nothing will ever stop us from loving you, or any of you. We just need to take care of Caduceus until he’s able to take care of himself.” Corrin smiled vaguely, rubbing Colton’s arm comfortingly. “Remember when I told you about the baby birds? They have to stay in the nest where the parents watch until they can fly. You and Calliope can fly and take care of yourselves- Caduceus can’t yet.”

Colton considered his aunt’s words, then gritted his teeth. “Fine.”

“Good. You’ll do amazing.” Corrin stood, moving to leave but stopping at the doorway. “And  _ no _ pranks.” She firmly warned, leaving the bedroom and closing the door.

Calliope picked up Caduceus by the waist, the younger firbolg hanging limply in her arms. He was unbothered, as usual. 

“Are you gonna  _ actually _ help me watch him?” Calliope smirked, adjusting Caduceus in her grip as he swung his legs slowly.

“ _ Yes _ . Only because I have to.” Colton tried to ignore Caduceus’ eyes locked on him. “He doesn’t  _ do _ anything anyway.”

“Huh, you are brothers, then! You don’t do anything either!” Calliope had a smug grin on her face, a malicious little glint in her eye.

Colton scoffed, taking an abrupt seat on the floor. “That’s not true. I do stuff all the time. I beat you in sparring like, thirteen times in a row last week.  _ That’s _ something.”

“You only won ‘cause you’re older. I beat you yesterday.” 

“It was a draw.”

“Was not! You fell down first.”

“Only because there was a root in the way!”

“It wasn’t there, but okay.” Calliope gave up on the argument, shaking her head. She then got an idea, shuffled over to Colton, and dropped Caduceus in his lap.

“-Hey!” Colton cried, only half-catching Caduceus as he fell the short distance onto his legs.

Caduceus giggled, flailing his legs and crawling forward, falling onto Colton’s chest and grabbing at his shirt. Colton gave a groan of frustration, ripping Caduceus away from him and holding him up at arm’s length. The two stared at each other for a while, until Caduceus looked over at Calliope and held out his arms to be picked up.

Calliope laughed, mostly at Colton’s look of disgust, and cuddled Caduceus in her grip. “Hey, wanna see something funny?”

“No.”

“It’s at Caduceus’ expense.”

“...yes.”

“Cool. Watch.” Once she made sure Colton’s eyes were on them, she shifted her arms to her side, tensed up, and chucked Caduceus across the room with a grunt of effort.

Colton shot up into a stand to stop her, but Caduceus had already landed on the bed across the room, squealing and laughing hard. Colton’s look of horror melted into his usual grumpy frown, and he crossed his arms.

“... that wasn’t that funny,” Colton murmured.

“You were scared! You should’ve seen your face.  _ That _ was funny.” Calliope proudly puffed out her chest, satisfied with her older brother’s reaction. “He loves it when I do that.” As if on cue, Caduceus quickly waddled up to his sister and eagerly pulled up his arms to be thrown again.

“You’re gonna miss one of these days, you’re not  _ that _ great at throwing things.”

“I won’t miss! The bed is big and I’m careful.” Calliope seemed confident in her abilities and added to that by swiftly throwing Caduceus one more time onto the bed. 

The young firbolg erupted in high-pitched laughter again, returning to Calliope’s side for yet another throw. Calliope simply ruffled his short, pink hair, shaking her head.

“No more, Caduceus. Sorry, bud, we gotta stop eventually. I probably shouldn’t encourage you getting tossed across the room.” 

Caduceus pouted but quickly got over it, wrapping his little arms around Calliope’s side. Calliope affectionately moved his messy bangs out of his eyes, giving him a soft smile. She had grown a liking to her little brother as time went on. Alternatively, Colton felt his disdain for his brother get bigger as they all got older. 

No way was Colton  _ jealous _ of Caduceus. He definitely did not care about the attention  _ at all. _ He just… didn’t like that Caduceus was so timid compared to Calliope. When Calliope was little, she was eager to do everything, and wouldn’t let anyone talk down to her. She was feisty, and Colton appreciated that. Caduceus, however, was slow to learn and slow to anger. Once, Colton held Caduceus upside down by his leg, and his brother didn’t even seem to care. Of course, the  _ adults _ cared, but Caduceus just let it happen with no protest. He was entirely too unbothered by everything, at least for Colton’s tastes. If he kept up this kind of attitude, he couldn’t see the two of them getting along anytime soon.

Despite everything, he always knew Calliope could take care of herself, and he respected that attribute. Sure, he wouldn’t let himself be degraded without a fight either, but that didn’t mean he didn’t respect Calliope’s forceful will.

Calliope took Caduceus’ small hand into her own. “Do you want anything to eat?” She asked her brother kindly. When Caduceus nodded, she pulled the child out of the bedroom, beckoning for Colton to follow. 

Colton followed reluctantly, not wanting Calliope to tell their parents that he hadn’t helped, so he assisted his sister in getting a bowl and some grapes. Calliope helped Caduceus into one of the chairs as Colton began painstakingly cutting each grape in half so Caduceus didn’t have to chew as much. Thankfully, he was soon joined by Calliope. She glanced back at Caduceus every minute or so to make sure he was still there, and sure enough, there he was, sitting obediently where his sister had placed him.

Until Calliope looked back, and he just wasn’t there anymore. He wasn’t off to the side or clamoring off of the chair. He was just gone. Calliope felt the small bowl she held fall from her grip and clatter onto the floor.

“Um… Colton?”

“ _ What? _ ”

“Did you hear Caduceus move?”

“You lost him already?” Colton deadpanned, not even looking up from what he was doing.

“I didn’t see  _ you _ watching him!” Calliope looked under the table for her brother, then around the corner to the hallway. Nothing.

Colton placed down the small knife he had, giving a half-hearted glance around the room. “He’s not here.”

“Wow, thanks! I didn’t know that!” Calliope sarcastically yelled, reaching towards the front door to go and tell their parents.

A sharp gasp from Colton made her stop in her tracks, and she slowly looked over at him. Colton had his back pressed against the counter, his eyes wide and mouth agape. She followed his eyes to what he was looking at. Her bowl that had fallen to the ground. But it was floating. In the air. A bowl floating. 

Calliope’s mouth opened to yell for her mother, until she saw Caduceus’ form flicker from nothingness right in front of Colton, holding the bowl. Oh. Okay. Guess her little brother just turned invisible. Sure. Nothing weird about that at all. Colton hesitantly took the bowl from his brother’s hands. His expression was probably as shocked and confused as Calliope figured hers was. 

“... Okay. Um. Caduceus?” Calliope croaked after a long silence.

Caduceus looked over curiously.

“... How’d you do that?”

  
  
He shrugged a little, a guilty expression crossing his face as he tried not to meet his sibling’s eyes. 

The elder siblings looked at each other, trying to figure out what to do. They both knew the adults should know about this, but was it worth interrupting the burials for something that might not happen again?

They didn’t have time to decide as their little brother once again blipped out of sight, his tiny frame disappearing in an instant. Colton jolted forward to grab his brother before he ran off, but all he grasped at was air. Great.

Calliope felt the air beside her shift, so she bounded forward to grab the movement, hoping she’d find her brother, but she simply tumbled to the ground. She pushed herself up onto her knees, watching in dismay as the front door opened seemingly on its own, just enough for a little firbolg to get through. Calliope made one final attempt to grab the invisible child, but her hand wasn’t met with anything solid.

The two older siblings frantically ran out of the front door, not even verbalizing their plan. They already knew what they needed to do. Find Caduceus before he got into trouble. They both stopped just outside of their home, eyes squinting to somehow find some sign of their brother. Usually, they were all quite perceptive, but their instincts were failing them this time.

On the other side of the graveyard, a mourning family softly conversed with their parents and aunt. They hadn’t yet begun burying their loved ones, getting through the eulogies before doing anything else. Corrin was the one comforting the family the most, her tall form towering over the humans dressed in shabby black clothes.

A human woman with blonde hair, who looked like perhaps the eldest child, suddenly jumped and jerked her head down to look at her leg. In an instant, a toddler firbolg popped into existence at her feet. He had his arms wrapped around her ankle, big pink-colored eyes staring up curiously.

Calliope and Colton were silently panicking, already preparing to be grounded for letting Caduceus interrupt a burial. Then they saw the woman smile and pick up Caduceus, cooing at him with tears in her eyes. The firbolg adults laughed sheepishly but didn’t take their youngest son back right away. Instead of anger, the family members seemed… Happy? They were practically tripping over themselves to get a look at Caduceus, the humans crowding around with grins on their faces.

As the older siblings cautiously got closer, they could catch some conversation.

“... my brother used to be about this small when he was a toddler. He was… so sweet. Your boy reminds me of him.” The blonde woman was telling Constance, a single tear slipping down her face. “Some of my best memories are of taking care of my siblings… gosh, I haven’t held a kid like this in… years.”

“You can keep him, if you want.” Cornelius joked, which made the adults all laugh, though the Clay siblings could have sworn they saw their mother glare at her husband.

A tiny sneeze from Caduceus made him spontaneously turn invisible, and he came back into view after Caduceus shook his little head to ground himself. Once again, all of the adults laughed and fawned over the cuteness, Caduceus getting handed back to his mother. Constance shot a glance at the older Clay siblings, making Colton and Calliope look away.

Constance whispered to Corrin as she placed Caduceus into her arms, and soon Corrin was standing before Colton and Calliope. 

“So, when did you plan on telling us that your brother could turn invisible?” Corrin’s voice had a slight edge.

“We, um… just found out. And we were gonna get you, but- he ran out and-” Calliope tried to explain, getting absolutely no help from her older brother. “-and we couldn’t catch him.”

“Hm,” Corrin hummed, “Well, we can’t exactly expect you to keep an invisible toddler under wraps by yourselves. How about I help you two watch him until your parents are done?”

Calliope nodded enthusiastically as Colton didn’t really react. Corrin smiled regardless, marching the two of them back inside. Colton and Calliope both sat at the dining table, and soon their aunt joined them.

“We’re not in trouble, are we?” Calliope’s small voice came after a few minutes of quiet. Colton was surprised by how meek she sounded.

“No, honey. I already told you that we can’t expect you to handle something like that on your own. I’m just going to make sure he doesn’t run off when we can’t see him. Invisibility is hard to master, even for us adults.”

“Wait, you guys can turn invisible?” Colton interjected, brows furrowed.

“We can. Perhaps not very  _ well _ , in your parent’s case, but… Yes.” 

“Can  _ we _ turn invisible?” Calliope excitedly stood up in her seat.

“If you practice, yes. It usually comes naturally around young adulthood. But… I suppose your brother is a special case.” She nodded at Caduceus, who was playing with his aunt’s hair with soft babbles.

“So you’re good at turning invisible, Aunty?” 

“I’d like to think so, Calliope.”

“Will you teach us?”

Corrin laughed. “ _ No _ . One child running around while invisible is enough.” She watched the two Clay siblings sink into their seats in disappointment.

Another silence later, Colton hissed softly, “Lucky kid. Getting the cool powers.”

Colton once again wasn’t happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes I know invisibility is supposed to recharge with a short/long rest, but this way is cuter. Canon magic mechanics don't apply here
> 
> Clarification for this fic- Colton and Calliope are only a couple years apart in age, (which is almost nothing in firbolg time) while Caduceus is significantly younger than them. (And will be significantly older than Clarabelle)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings: Blood, gore, graphic descriptions of violence, and animal death.
> 
> I hope y'all weren't expecting the entire series to be soft.   
> I promised childhood trauma, and now I have delivered.

The Blooming Grove was quiet. It usually was, even when the Clays were out and about, as the firbolg family wasn’t known for being particularly loud. Despite the usual calmness, the silence of the night at the Blooming Grove could be eerie, even for the Clays. Sometimes, it was as if nature itself had been put on mute, every animal and every insect deciding to silence. The nights were dark most nights, yet darker on nights with clouds obscuring the stars. The silence made it hard for anyone to sneak into the grove. Any little sound was amplified at night, and on top of that, the Clays were naturally perceptive. Yes, it was hard to get into the Blooming Grove at night.

And it was just as hard to sneak out.

Calliope stepped out into the chilled night air, a light breeze making her bangs flutter into her face. She would usually take the time to enjoy the beautiful night the Wildmother had made for them, but not tonight. Tonight she had a mission. Actually, she  _ and _ Colton had a mission. Sneak out beyond the gates, see what’s out there, and get home.

Simple. 

Colton tentatively closed the front door behind the pair, making sure nothing made even a slight sound. He met his sister’s eyes, nodded, and the two booked it to the gate that seemed miles away. Their father had taught them how to run quietly long ago, so as they were taught, they weaved around branches and leaves to prevent noise.

The gate leading out was large, and of course, locked. But the gate wasn’t their target. Instead, they moved to one of the sturdier areas of the iron fence. They needed a place to climb where the metal wouldn’t rattle. Colton boosted his sister up as far as he could, and she expertly clamored to the top and jumped off the edge, landing with an almost inaudible thump. Colton sucked in a breath and began his climb up. He couldn’t show it, but he was nervous. He knew the forest beyond their walls was dangerous, but they couldn’t stay cooped up forever, right?

Colton almost slipped as he hoisted himself over the spikes of the fence, not-so-elegantly leaping from the fence to the soft ground. Calliope was obviously holding back a giggle, but Colton stopped that with a single glare.

The hardest part of their adventure over, they began a slow walk into the forest. It was horrifying, it was beautiful, it was perfect, and it was ugly. It was an elegant gown with bloodstains, it was a grand ballroom lined with weapons of every type. Shades of green, purple, blue, and even red mingled together in the trees. There were so many different plants, so many vines, flowers, and trees. Vines danced every time one of them brushed by, the delicate swinging soothing like a rocking cradle. It all was almost too inviting.

“What was that?” 

Calliope’s ears perked up as her brother’s whisper cut through her awe. She glanced to her side, seeing that her brother was looking behind them frantically, teeth tightly clenched together. Calliope didn’t hear anything suspicious, but she trusted that Colton wouldn’t prank her in times like this. Her hand shot out to grip her older brother’s sleeve, silently suggesting that they run.

A small snap of a twig breaking made Calliope’s heart race, both siblings instinctively stepping back. Calliope braced her legs to run, hearing a shuffling behind a tree moving around to greet them. At first, there was nothing there. Then reality seemed to shift, and suddenly, there was something there.

Caduceus.

Caduceus’ invisibility had just dropped, the youngest firbolg looking at his siblings innocently, clearly not getting the gravity of the situation. Colton opened his mouth but stopped when Calliope rushed forward and grabbed Caduceus’ arm.

“ _ Caduceus! _ ” She hissed. “You’re not supposed to be out here- it’s  _ dangerous- _ did you turn invisible and follow us?”

Caduceus thought about it, then silently nodded. It was probably good that he didn’t talk much, any defense that Caduceus could try to muster would probably be met with beratement from Colton.

“We’re going home,” Calliope’s voice was almost at regular speaking volume, but they were far enough away from home that it wouldn’t be a problem. “Come on, Colton.”

“We barely made it out here… of course he had to ruin it.” Grumbled the eldest sibling, stomping up ahead of the younger two. “- he ruins  _ everything _ .”

“We’ll try again, someday. But I am  _ not _ getting in trouble for letting him get out here.”

“ _ Fine _ . We’ll leave. But if he gets us caught, I swear-”

The three all stopped as a creature bounded in front of them. Calliope gasped in fear, pushing her little brother behind her instinctively. She was about ready to scoop her brother up and bolt, but then she realized what had joined them.

A deer. A beautiful doe with beautiful white markings and intelligent eyes. She stood before them like a monument of grace, her head turning to look at the group of children. Calliope realized that she was smiling, but who wouldn’t be? She was gorgeous, something to be appreciated.

That beauty made the beholders ignorant to what crept up behind them. In less than a second, something bounded forward and slammed the doe to the ground, the deer crying out in pain and fright. They only had half of a second to realize that a large, panther-like creature was what had attacked the deer, and that it was already sinking its teeth into the doe’s neck. As the once perfect creature died in the claws of the panther, the three firbolgs saw two yellow cat eyes lock onto them. The panther’s eyes.

Calliope turned on her heel to run, hand clamping down on where Caduceus’ arm used to be, but it wasn’t there. Caduceus wasn’t there. Her mind screamed at her to get out, to worry about staying alive, but her gut made her freeze in place and desperately whip her head around to find her younger brother. Nothing. Plants, trees, Colton, but no Caduceus. She felt a scream bubble up in her throat that didn’t come out, for her own arm was snatched and she was dragged along. Colton. He was yanking her with him as he circled around the cat, beelining back towards the Blooming Grove. 

A scream of  _ ‘mom’ _ and  _ ‘dad’ _ shot through the thick air, and Calliope had to take a moment to realize that she was the one screaming. She could hear hisses and growls behind her mixed with loud thumps, and she was positive that the panther was on the move. She didn’t have time to realize that the sounds weren’t following them. She didn’t have time to realize what else the cat could be following.

Caduceus fell back against a tree, his invisibility finally kicking back in due to adrenaline alone. He couldn’t move. The panther appeared from above, its meal hanging from its giant maw. Its eyes scanned the area, looking for the intruders from before. Looking for Caduceus’ siblings. Looking for  _ him _ . When it found nothing, it settled on a fallen tree perched above and in front of Caduceus. It began to eat.

Caduceus’ eyes were impossibly wide as he watched the pristine brown fur of the deer become redder and redder. The neck was ripped open, buckets of blood dripping down onto the ground just inches before the child. The torso was torn open next, a display of organs slipping from the abdominal cavity to the grass below. The meat was gnawed forth and swallowed up greedily, the sounds of brutal consumption filling Caduceus’ ears. The panther devoured the deer so quickly, bones being stripped of muscle and flesh impossibly fast, but every second felt like hours to Caduceus. Bile rose in his throat as a leg hanging by a single strand of tendon finally was released with a jerk of the corpse.

Caduceus was as still as a statue. Despite the horrific nature of the consumption just feet away, Caduceus couldn’t stop looking. His flight instinct made him shift to get up, but that slight sound made the panther’s ear twitch in his direction, and the feast was put on pause to look for the source of the sound. Brain now knowing there was no chance of sneaking away, Caduceus had to stay. He had to wait. If he wanted to live, he had to wait until the predator was done.

A stubborn chunk of the deer refused to give way at the initial attempts from the panther, and with a great yank, the morsel came free, a splatter of blood flying forward. Caduceus didn’t even flinch when the droplets of red hit his face. At first, the blood seemed to be settled midair, but eventually, Caduceus’ illusion accepted the blood into it, making the little firbolg completely obscured once again. The blood smelled metallic, and it was disgustingly warm. He wanted to wipe it off, he wanted to scream and cry and call for his mother, but he couldn’t do a thing. 

The deer was mostly bones at this point, any unneeded material simply falling down in a pile, joining the discarded organs and the blood. It was almost done, the panther was almost done. It had to be, right? There was nothing left to take. 

“ _ Caduceus! _ ”

A distant voice yelled his name. Was that his mother? Or was it aunt Corrin? Sometimes it was hard to tell.

“ _ Caduceus, come out! _ ”

Come out? He couldn’t. Not right now.

Many heavy footsteps and panicked shouts got closer and closer. There was his father’s voice, calling his name. That was the sound of a sword being unsheathed. Caduceus still couldn’t close his eyes, still couldn’t drop his invisibility. Caduceus could do nothing else, so he prayed. 

_ Wildmother, don’t let them run past me. Please save me. _

His parents and aunt Corrin were mere feet away, now. His mother and father had their weapons drawn and aunt Corrin had the blue light of sacred flame roaring at her fingertips. They saw the creature, they seemed to know that was the creature they were looking for, but he knew they couldn’t see him. His head turned to look his mother in the eyes. His tear-filled eyes stared ahead, and he dropped the invisibility.

Constance took one look at her bloodstained child, and screamed with fury, rushing forth with no hesitation. Her footfalls were loud against the bark of the fallen tree, but then again, this wasn’t a stealth mission. She just had to reach the creature, and cut it down. The panther felt the blade sink into him before he could process that he was being attacked.

The panther scrambled to bite, to claw- but it felt a bolt of divine fire collide with its head before it could even see Constance. The pain it felt was enough to give Constance the opportunity to bring the blade down one more time, ending the battle with another horrible gush of red.

The creature’s body tumbled off of the tree trunk, joining the remains of its prey, becoming the slaughtered instead of the slaughterer. Its head hung off of its neck in two pieces, shards of skull and brain matter dropping from the gaping wound.

Caduceus felt strong arms gathering him up, hands wiping at the blood on his face and petting his hair. Fingers brushed at his arms, searching for wounds. He couldn’t process anything for a good minute, and by then, he was already being carried. A realization hit him like a ton of bricks- it was over. Both creatures were dead. Caduceus  _ wasn’t _ dead. And he had been saved, just as he wished for. But he cried. He was saved, but he cried. He finally  _ got to _ cry. 

Constance had to choke back tears as her youngest child wailed and trembled in her arms, the fur of his face still stained crimson. Caduceus cried sometimes like any other kid, but not like this. She had never heard him cry like this. He was never a loud child, but this time, it was different. Though his despair was muffled into Constance’s shirt, she could hear it all clearly, she could tell how loud it was. It broke her heart.

Death was natural. Predators consuming their prey- very natural. It happens every day, all the time. Nature is not known for never being cruel. Yes, nature was cruel, and it was only right that they all learn about the natural process of feeding eventually. Seeing blood was an inevitability. Seeing death was inescapable. It was all a part of learning - of knowing what nature is truly like.

But Constance would be a liar if she ever said that she wanted Caduceus to learn this way.

Caduceus didn’t stop crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (looks at Caduceus' mental state)   
> (Flex tape voice) That's a lot of damage!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is a continuation of last chapter. Warning for brief emotions of blood/death.
> 
> In which Constance comforts Caduceus and Caduceus comforts Calliope.

“Caduceus? Honey, are you with me?”

Constance had Caduceus sat on the edge of her bed, a damp rag in hand. Caduceus’ eyes were wide and blank, staring into nothingness. He trembled as if he was cold, even though he was wrapped in a blanket. When Caduceus didn’t seem to acknowledge her, she brought her free hand up to his cheek. 

“Caduceus, can you look at me?” She tried again, gently lifting Caduceus’ chin up to face her.

Caduceus’ unfocused eyes eventually trailed to his mother, and he slowly blinked. Constance sighed, bringing the rag up to continue working at the blood in his fur. It wasn’t much, thankfully, but it was blood, and Constance wasn’t going to have her baby walking around with that on him. Especially since it was probably scary for him. She knew Caduceus had never really seen blood before, and that would be bad enough if the whole situation wasn’t so… violent.

Even now, Constance could hear the muffled scolds coming from the kitchen, where her husband and sister were surely lecturing her other two children. Not that they didn’t deserve discipline. What they did was irresponsible and dangerous. Even if it wasn’t completely their fault Caduceus had followed them out into the forest, he still wouldn’t have been there if his siblings never tried to go outside the gates.

They shouldn’t have been out there. They should’ve heeded their elder’s warnings, and not let their own curiosity get the better of them. But there is no changing the past. What happened, happened. And while she knew she had to punish her children for their disobedience, she also knew that kind of thing wasn’t important right now.

Calliope and Colton had already been checked for injuries, had already been hugged and comforted for the scary experience. They were okay, physically. They weren’t in a panic anymore. But it would be wrong to say that they were both alright. They weren’t. They had a horrifying night, and now they were being told that their actions nearly got their little brother killed. They had to hear that Caduceus was probably traumatized from what he saw.

Caduceus was still silent as the last few flakes of dried blood came out of his light gray fur. The reddened rag was placed on the side table carelessly as a sad expression came to Constance’s face. She almost wished Caduceus was still crying- that she knew how to deal with. But silence? Lifeless staring and a hurt psyche? Not her specialty. She wasn’t used to tragedy, none of them were. That was the price of being isolated in a small area, she supposed. When something bad happens, it’ll hit hard. Especially when they’re not ready.

“Caduceus? Do you need anything?” Constance whispered, running her fingers delicately through his pink hair. Any other time, she would be thinking about how long his hair was getting, and how a haircut might be needed soon.

Caduceus shrunk back into the thick blanket but otherwise didn’t react. 

Constance bit her lip, lifting her son into her embrace and sitting at the back of the bed, setting Caduceus in her lap, arms still wrapped around him. She pulled him close into a cuddle, and she soon felt Caduceus relax against her. She could feel him trembling, now, and it made her heart ache.

“I know what happened was scary,” Constance began in a weak voice, “I know you must be so scared. But you’re safe now. The Wildmother kept you safe, and she lead us to you. And she will keep you safe until you’re ready to fight for yourself.” Constance rubbed Caduceus’ back slowly. “You don’t have to be afraid, at least not tonight. We’re home and we should all be thankful that you’re still with us. Because we love you so much, Caduceus.”

Caduceus whimpered softly, and Constance could barely make out the shine of tears as they slipped down his face. She would probably have tear stains on her shirt soon, but she didn’t care.

“It’s okay to be upset, dear. I wish that you didn’t have to see that. I wish you didn’t have to be taught about death so brutally. But you know now. Now, you know how natural violence is. And… now you need to understand that what that animal did wasn’t wrong. At least… not what it did to that deer.” 

Caduceus shifted a little. Constance went on, “They were just eating, just surviving. Things have to die in order to create life. It’s scary, it’s messy, it’s brutal, but it’s how it is. We shouldn’t be afraid of nature. We should acknowledge it, and see it for what it is. A part of life. And I’m hoping you won’t be so upset by those things from now on. Because you’re strong, and you have us behind you. Most of all, you have the Wildmother with you, always. She loves you so much. What happened was a lesson. So we should find the blessing in it.”

Caduceus took a minute to process, his tears thoroughly soaked into his mother’s shirt. Then, he slowly looked up. His tears were gone, and he didn’t seem afraid anymore. He seemed a bit more at peace. Constance smiled warmly, stroking his cheek gently.

“We may not see what it is yet, but the Wildmother chose to let what happened happen for a reason. We need to trust that it’s all for the better.” Constance’s heart felt at ease knowing Caduceus wasn’t quite so upset.

Caduceus closed his eyes, yawning and lying against Constance.

“You’ll be okay. We’ll find the good in this together. I promise, sweetheart.” Constance’s voice was barely audible, but she knew that her son heard her.

It only took a few minutes of silence for the little firbolg to fall asleep. Constance kept him in the blanket, laying him down right in the middle of the bed, making sure he’d be comfortable.

Now, to deal with Colton and Calliope.

* * *

  
  


Calliope hated being grounded. Especially since the rules of this grounding were more severe than the last ones. She was barely even allowed to leave the house. Colton being in the same situation as her might have made her feel better if he was any fun while grounded. But instead Colton sulked endlessly every time he got in trouble.

Stuck in her room with practically nothing to do, Calliope decided to meditate. Or at least, try. She was more of a quiet prayer type rather than executing full-on meditation sessions, but what else could she spend her time doing?

Crossing her legs on the floor, Calliope sighed and placed her hands on her knees, trying to focus. She tried to push the thoughts of the incident out of her head, tried to forget the fear and the panic. She tried to forget the sight of her little brother being carried into the grove, bloodstained and wailing. She tried to ignore the pain in her heart knowing she had gotten Caduceus hurt like that.

Calliope exclaimed loudly in anger as she felt hot tears push out of her eyes. She hated crying more than she hated being grounded. She picked up a chair with furious determination, ready to chuck it against the wall, consequences be damned. But she stopped when she saw a little form in the door. Caduceus.

Calliope slowly put the chair back, looking around the room. Her voice was quiet as she said, “Caduceus, I’m grounded. I don’t think they want me to see you. Shoo.”

Caduceus shook his head and came further into the room.

Calliope threw her hands up in frustration and plopped into a sit, a snarl tugging at her lips. “If you get me in _more_ trouble, I swear you’ll be six feet under.”

Caduceus shuffled up to his sister’s side, sitting next to her. Sometimes Calliope really wished that Caduceus would just _talk_ every once in a while. She couldn’t get a good read on what he was feeling half the time, and sometimes they had trouble communicating. It was almost like Caduceus was capable of speaking, he just chose not to. Maybe to annoy everybody.

“You’re mad, aren’t you?” Calliope realized how pathetic she sounded, her voice shaking. “We… _I_ nearly got you killed. You could’ve died. You could’ve died and I wasn’t even there to- to fight-“

Calliope felt warmth wrapped around her arm, and looked down to see Caduceus, hugging her arm tightly with his face buried into her shoulder. He shook his head again.

“No? Don’t- don’t tell me you don’t blame me. You do, don’t you?”

Another shake of his head.

“Why? Aren’t you mad from what happened? I mean- Caduceus, what you saw- it was- aren’t you _upset?_ ”

Caduceus squeezed Calliope’s arm in his grip. He looked up and met Calliope’s eyes. He shook his head once more.

Calliope gave a sharp sigh, half from frustration at herself and half from frustration at her brother. “Caduceus… I’m- I’m _sorry,_ I-“ Calliope hiccuped, a tear escaping her eye and falling into her lap.

Caduceus swiftly crawled into Calliope’s lap, wrapping his arms around her torso. Calliope immediately hugged back, cradling her little brother like he would be ripped away any second.

“I’m supposed to be a warrior of the Wildmother- and- if I can’t even protect you, then- what kind of warrior am I? I ran away and left you. You - you could’ve-“

Caduceus hugged his sister tighter. Calliope was choking on sobs now, tears rapidly flowing down her face, even though she reached up and tried vainly to wipe them away. 

“I… for- forgive you.” Croaked a voice.

Calliope’s head jerked to look around in surprise, the tiny voice she had heard so foreign, so unrecognizable. It took her mind a second to realize that it was Caduceus that had spoken to her. More tears welled up as the impact of his forgiveness dawned on her.

Without another word, Calliope embraced her brother once more, gripping him firmly. Caduceus’ forgiveness, his willingness to speak just for her- it meant the world. And it made her feel better.

She really did love Caduceus.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> have you ever wondered about the origins of Caduceus' love of tea? How about his vegetarian diet? No? well too bad that's what you're getting, along with a side of mother-son bonding

Caduceus had his head propped up by his arm, tired eyes staring at his plate. His food was all still there, just pushed around and a little spread out, which was unsurprising. Caduceus knew that he hadn’t eaten a thing, and the elder firbolgs knew it, too. The last few days, they watched as he barely ate any of his meals at all. And now, Caduceus was refusing to eat anything whatsoever.

“Caduceus, are you going to eat? We don’t want your food going to waste, do we?” Constance finally decided to point out Caduceus’ lack of appetite.

Caduceus looked up at his mother, then softly shook his head. Looks like he wasn’t shy about not eating.

Constance frowned. “Is this because of what happened?” 

It was a distinct possibility that the incident was what triggered her youngest’s sudden fasting- it had only happened a week or so ago, which was no time at all. Constance saw Calliope and Colton uncomfortably shift in their seats out of the corner of her eye- but those two weren’t her focus right now. They were still a little upset by their own actions, of course- but they also weren’t the ones who saw the gruesome death of that deer.

Caduceus’ head shook in denial, his little form wilting. He must know that everyone’s attention was on him now.

“Hm, I see. Is it because you’re feeling ill?” Constance assumed Caduceus wasn’t being truthful when he rejected the idea that the incident was influencing him. Regardless if he was lying or not, taking a little break might do him good.

Caduceus thought, then nodded.

“Ah, poor thing,” Chimed Corrin, who swiftly stood from her seat and stepped over to the kitchenette. “How about a little mint tea to calm your stomach? I don’t think you’ve tried tea before. You might enjoy it.”

Caduceus was silent as always but hopped off of his chair and went to his aunt’s side. He reached up and grabbed her pant leg, hiding his face against the fabric. Cornelius got the hint and gestured to his children to go back to eating, which they did. Attention off of him, Caduceus craned his neck to watch his aunt making the tea, which Corrin quickly noticed. She smiled warmly and lifted Caduceus up, holding him against her side as she worked. 

“We have to be careful with the hot water. But when it’s boiled and the tea leaves have had time to work, we have tea. Isn’t that interesting, dear?” Corrin kindly asked her nephew, adding the mint tea leaves to the water gently.

Caduceus was smiling, probably for the first time in days. His eyes were locked on what his aunt was doing, his lips parted in amazement. Caduceus always was enchanted by the little things, every new discovery was amazing to the little firbolg. It really was a shame he had to live in such a small space, he would have a blast out in the world. But that probably wouldn’t happen anytime soon, unfortunately. Maybe it would never happen.

Caduceus was set down once the tea was made, and a cup was poured for him. Calliope and Colton were helping Cornelius clean up after dinner, so Caduceus took a seat by himself at the table and carefully held the teacup in his hands. He blew over it softly, then took a sip.

His eyes lit up, and he happily took another big sip, swinging his legs happily. Corrin chuckled and ruffled his hair. 

“I guess you like tea as much as I do. You do need to eat eventually though, sweetheart. Skipping meals isn’t good for you.” Corrin’s voice was soft and comforting as always, not sounding accusing at all.

Caduceus shrugged, simply focusing on drinking his tea. It was quickly done, and Caduceus held out his cup.

“How about this, Caduceus…” Corrin kneeled down to his level. “If you eat your meals, I’ll make you as much tea as you like. Whatever kind you like. But that’s only if you eat. You don’t have to finish it all if it’s too hard- I just don’t want you going without food.”

Caduceus looked down at the ground, eyes looking to and fro as he considered it. Soon, he nodded quickly and pulled his still-full plate closer.

A job well done, Corrin took Caduceus’ teacup aside for when he was done, watching as her sister came to stand beside her. Constance elbowed her gently, a thankful grin on her lips.

“You’ve worked your magic again, dear sister.” 

“Don’t I always?” Corrin replied, her own smile just a tad smug. 

“I have some moments too, Corrin,” Constance shook her head with a laugh, “But I don’t think any of us would be where we are without you. I love you, and I am grateful to the Wildmother that she kept you in our lives.” Constance hooked her arm around her sister’s, pulling her closer.

“I love you too, and I am just as grateful that you are here as well. Now, while I do like feeling appreciated, I think your son would also like a little reassurance.” Corrin lowered her voice. “We’ve all noticed he’s having trouble coping with the memories. I can tell he thinks about it a lot.”

Constance and Corrin shot a glance at the youngest of the family, who was still eating. Under his pale fur, they could both see the beginnings of shadows under his eyes. His eyes themselves were a little duller than usual, and a bit glassy. Calliope had told them yesterday that Caduceus was up that night, and that she thought she heard him crying. They were all worried, even Colton. Colton would never admit that, though.

“He doesn’t want to talk about it… I mean, I know he didn’t talk much before, but he would still say words sometimes. Now… he’s not saying anything. I’m not saying we shouldn’t encourage him to express what’s on his mind, but… I don’t want to force anything.” Constance began working on the dishes, her frown deepening as her worry for her son came to the surface.

“All we can do is assure him that we are willing to listen when he’s ready, and make sure he’s healthy.” 

“Yes… I know he’ll tell us in due time, I just wish that he wouldn’t keep it all inside until then.” Constance nervously adjusted her braid, undoing the band at the end and redoing it without looking.

Corrin noticed her sister’s nerves coming through, whenever Constance fiddled with her braid, something was probably wrong. In response, she rubbed her younger sister’s back softly. “Constance, it’ll be okay. We’ll get through this. The Wildmother will guide us through this tough time. We can meditate together later.”

“Yes, I… I think that would be good for me.”

The sisters both looked behind them as a small thump sounded near the dining table, and they saw Caduceus with his empty plate, who had just jumped down from his chair. He fumbled over to his mother and offered the plate. Constance leaned down and patted his head, taking the plate with a delighted smile.

“Thank you, honey. Good job, I’m glad you decided to eat.” Constance praised, watching Caduceus shyly hide his face behind his hair. Constance brushed his hair out of his face and behind one of his ears, and Caduceus quickly scurried off to his room.

Constance sighed, watching her son go. She decided to focus on washing the dishes, for now. She had washed dishes about a million times by now, so she didn’t need to focus too hard on what she was doing. Corrin soon started helping, and soon enough, everything was cleaned up. 

“Do you want me to talk to him? You still seem troubled.” Corrin’s concern broke Constance out of her haze, and her eyes quickly focused on her older sister.

“I am. But I should talk to him. His mother should step up every so often, don’t you think?” Constance giggled weakly, a tired look in her eyes. 

“You’re a good mother, Constance. Don’t ever doubt that, my dear.”

“Thank you, Corrin.” Constance and Corrin shared a brief hug, but soon Constance broke away and trailed to Caduceus’ room.

Pushing the door open, Constance noticed her youngest in the middle of the floor, legs crossed and hands on his knees. Constance decided to take a seat next to him, staying quiet so as to not disturb his meditation. He didn’t falter in his deep state, and Constance couldn’t help but be proud that he was so good at communicating with the Wildmother already. A few minutes of still silence passed, and Constance found her eyes closing before she realized it. She felt warmth pressing against her side, and she wrapped an arm around Caduceus, who had cuddled up to her.

“Did I interrupt you, honey?”

Constance opened her eyes to see Caduceus shaking his head.

“That’s good. I’m glad you feel comfortable talking to the Wildmother by yourself.”

No response.

“... Do you want to tell me what you wanted to hear from her?”

Silence, another ignored inquiry.

Constance pulled Caduceus closer, sadness in her words, “I miss your voice, you know. I was always so proud when you got a word right. You’re such a smart boy. I wish you’d talk to me. But I understand you’re probably hurting right now.”

A little sigh, but otherwise nothing.

“I know it seems like if you don’t bring up the pain, it’ll go away. But feeling that pain and talking about it… that’s what can really help. It doesn’t feel good at first, but it’ll heal you, in time.” Constance was a little more sure now, pushing aside her own sadness to focus on her child’s needs.

She could feel Caduceus’ grip on her tighten.

“At the very least, I’m very happy you seek out comfort in the Wildmother. She loves you, just as much as I love you.” 

Constance tried to shake the feeling she was talking to herself.

“We only want what’s best for you. The Wildmother, your father, your aunt- even your siblings just want you to be okay. If what you need is time before you can talk about it, then I will wait. We will all wait.” Constance ran her fingers through her son’s pink hair slowly. 

Constance was at a loss for what else to say, so she simply kept the tiny firbolg close, listening to Caduceus’ soft breathing. His breaths jerked a little every so often as he tried to keep the tears in.

“W-Wanted- for-forget…” Caduceus’ little, shaky voice finally came, making Constance quickly glance down.

“You wanted to forget?” Constance asked, once again pushing pink locks out of Caduceus’ eyes.

A nod.

“Oh, honey… I know you do. It was so scary. But we can’t simply forget the lessons the Wildmother gives us. Remember when we talked about the silver lining? There’s still a lesson to be had. We’ll find the good. Have you been thinking about it when you try to sleep?”

A hum of confirmation came from the youngest, and he finally looked up to meet his mother’s eyes.

“Do you want to sleep in my bed tonight? Maybe some company will help. If you have a bad dream, your father and I will be there.” Constance offered.

Caduceus immediately nodded, wiping at his watering eyes.

“Okay. We’ll be there for you.” Constance kissed Caduceus’ head. “Do you need to tell me anything else?”

Caduceus fidgeted with his fingers, biting his lip before he spoke up again. “F-Feel- gross… wh- when- eating…’n feel sick.”

Ah. That made sense. She would probably be hesitant to eat after seeing something like that, too. Maybe the sound of eating made it worse, or maybe it was just the sensation of chewing that brought up memories. 

“Well, aunt Corrin’s deal still stands. It’s as she said, you need to eat to stay healthy. But we can find foods that don’t upset you. And if the sound bothers you, you could eat by yourself. Whatever works. We’ll find a way, okay?”

“O- Okay.”

“Do you need anything else?” Constance asked gently.

He considered, then unsurely averted his eyes. “Tea?”

Constance laughed, taking her son into her arms and heading for the kitchen. “Sure. Let’s see if aunt Corrin will make you some. Maybe a different kind might be fun to try.”

Caduceus finally smiled again, a glint of life back in his eyes. He finally looked like a little kid again instead of a traumatized victim of circumstance. He had something to be excited about again, something that eased the pain. It was something he found comfort in, obviously, and Constance had no problem letting him have that.

Constance got the feeling that she’d need to buy a lot more tea in the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Corrin is to blame for Caduceus' obsession with tea. Way to go, gay aunt. Just wait until he starts making tea out of dead people.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing hurts this chapter  
> Featuring: flowers, a cantrip, and sibling bonding

Caduceus was worried about his siblings.

They were _still_ grounded. Granted, the severe nature of the punishment was lifted a few weeks in. After those weeks, they were just regular-grounded instead of intense-grounded. Still, he knew how much they both hated not being able to do much. They couldn’t go outside to play, only to train. Some days they weren’t even allowed that.

Caduceus didn’t blame either of them for what transpired that night. If anyone was to blame, it was Caduceus himself. He was the one who followed his siblings out there without their consent. He just wanted to spend some time with them- and look what happened.

Colton had been in a bad mood for the past few days, which was understandable considering he hadn’t ever been grounded this long before. He would get angry at the smallest mishap, and retreat to the room he and Calliope shared to go scream into a pillow often. Caduceus knew to keep his distance, especially since Colton didn’t like him all that much in the first place. 

Calliope, on the other hand, was sulking. She was obviously distraught, but she also believed wholeheartedly that her punishment was justified. She was never the type to beg for punishments to come to an end early- even if she wanted to. She faced challenges head on, that’s just how she always was. Even though she was doing her best to take the grounding like a trooper, it was getting to her.

Caduceus asked his mother to end their grounding early a few days ago, but she seemed hesitant. She didn’t want to see her kids so upset, of course, but what they did was severe. It wouldn’t be a punishment if there wasn’t a little discomfort, Caduceus supposed. Still, Caduceus wanted to do something nice for them, to confirm that they were loved and that he wasn’t mad.

The seasons were just beginning to shift, the Blooming Grove bursting with new life, even more than usual. New plants and flowers were growing from the ground, blooming with many vibrant colors. He knew exactly what kind of flowers his siblings liked- Colton loved anything blue, and Calliope adored tulips.

Caduceus searched the yard for flowers with a basket, but only found a few blue flowers, and no tulips. Nowhere near enough for what he was planning. Caduceus felt a little discouraged, but he wasn’t going to give up. Surely there was some way he could get more flowers, without having to wait too long.

Caduceus found a grave to sit beside, deciding that asking the Wildmother for assistance was his best bet. Maybe she could grow something. Maybe she could give him another idea to cheer up his older siblings.

Caduceus closed his eyes, and focused. A warm breeze stroked his skin, ran through his fur, making a wave of calmness flow through him. He felt the earth pulse under him like a heartbeat, assuring him that there was someone listening, that there was someone there. He reached down, placing his hands on the rough dirt of the grave, just to feel even closer to his goddess. The earth was damp and cool, the comforting texture making Caduceus feel at ease.

Then he felt something poking at his fingers from beneath the dirt, and he quickly jerked his hands away, eyes flying open.

Little sprouts of green swayed in the soft breeze before Caduceus. Sprouts that weren’t there before. They were tiny, with just a hint of buds at their tips, but they were there. They were growing. Caduceus tilted his head, placing his hands back on the ground near the sprouts.

After a few seconds of nothing, Caduceus tried focusing harder. He moved his curious thoughts to those of the Wildmother’s gifts- he thought of trees, of bushes, of vines, and finally, of flowers. He felt some sort of connection to something deep below the surface. The corpse, Caduceus realized. Whatever he was doing, it was working on the body buried down below.

The sprouts slowly grew bigger and taller, buds becoming more and more pronounced until the tulips blossomed into oranges and pinks. They were perfect, untouched by any grief or turmoil. Calliope would love them.

Caduceus smiled. He stood up, looking at the headstone. He couldn’t read the carving, for the name was covered by moss and vines, but whoever they were, he hoped they’d be happy to lend a hand with Caduceus’ mission.

Caduceus focused hard, keeping his hands extended towards the dirt. More flowers popped from the dirt, one after another. More tulips came forth, some bluebells, blue hydrangeas, and forget-me-nots following after. Time seemed to pass in an instant, but Caduceus could tell he was there for a while. When Caduceus decided he had enough, there was practically a bush of flowers. They were tangled together and lifted into the air by long stems, just waiting to be collected.

Caduceus seated himself among the colors, taking his time in picking singular flowers. They were all perfectly untrained, so much so that they almost didn’t seem like real flowers. But their gentle aroma assured the firbolg that he was handling actual plants, beautiful and delicate living things he had summoned for his siblings.

Basket full of flowers, Caduceus set the collection aside and used his new ability one more time. He felt bad leaving so many picked stems, so he willed forth a few more flowers. This time, they were white roses, symbols of pure and innocent gratitude. Hopefully whoever was buried here would like them.

Caduceus picked up his basket, patting the mostly-green gravestone. “Thank you.” He whispered, stepping away to let the body rest. 

Caduceus swiftly snuck into his room, laying out all of the tulips and arranging them by color. He wanted his gift to be perfect. Flower crowns weren’t hard to make, he had learned how to make them months ago, but he didn’t want to mess up. Calliope secretly adored flower crowns, and Caduceus felt she should wear them more often. She looked like a beautiful warrior of nature when she wore flowers, like her crown was a symbol of divine honor.

Colton didn’t usually wear flower crowns, enjoying the process of making them more than wearing them, so he figured he’d leave loose flowers for Colton to make his own. He left the stems nice and long, and Caduceus inwardly hoped Colton might let him braid a few flowers into his hair. He had such long hair these days, but he always kept it up in a ponytail or bun. Maybe a different hairstyle, like a loose braid down his back might be nice for him to have. Caduceus doubted Colton would allow him to do that, though.

After about an hour, the blue flowers were arranged neatly in the basket and the tulip flower crown was crafted. Caduceus bounced on his feet in excitement, and quickly made his way to Calliope and Colton’s room.

After a soft knock, the door creaked open, and Calliope stood there with a raised eyebrow.

Caduceus pushed into the room before she could process what was going on, and he pulled the door shut. Calliope turned to look at him suspiciously, mouth opening to question him when her eyes fell on what Caduceus had.

Caduceus held out the tulip flower crown in one of his hands, waiting for his sister to take it.

“... Caduceus?” She muttered, taking the crown. “... for me? Where… did you get all of these tulips? They don’t grow this early into the season.”

Caduceus just shrugged, turning his attention to Colton, who was sitting on the bed and pretending not to watch. Caduceus huffed a little to make him look his way, and he held out the basket.

“... what?” He snapped, arms crossing.

“F- For you.” Caduceus stuttered, shaking the basket once to urge his big brother to take it.

Colton took the basket with a dramatic sigh, inspecting the flowers carefully. “Is this a prank? I’m really not in the mood for a trick.”

Caduceus shook his head furiously, pointing to Calliope’s crown, then the blue flowers. “M- Make.”

“You want me to make my own?” Colton slowly asked, trying not to admire the beautiful arrangement.

Caduceus nodded.

Colton snorted, shaking his head. “Wow, you make her one and can’t be bothered to make one for me? She always was your favorite.”

“Oh, please, Colton. You’d be whining that you didn’t want one if he did make it for you.” Calliope countered, plopping next to him on the bed. She then grinned, placing her crown on her head. “I think he’s trying to cheer us up. And it’s working. On me, at least.”

Caduceus smiled broadly, clambering onto the bed in front of his older siblings. Caduceus plucked a few flowers from Colton’s basket, and then pointed at Colton’s hair.

“... if I let you put some flowers in my hair, will you leave me alone afterwards?” Colton grumbled.

Caduceus nodded again. 

“ _Fine._ But if you pull my hair, I’ll never let you touch it again.” Colton pulled the ribbon from his ponytail, letting the pink locks fall down his back. Colton shifted to the side so his younger brother could sit behind him, the basket of blue flowers in his lap.

Caduceus took the ribbon, moving behind Colton and beginning to gently weave the flowers into his hair, braiding with a soft touch.

Calliope joined Caduceus at his side, helping to keep the braids together. 

For a long while, the three siblings worked in silence, Colton on his flower crown and Calliope and Caduceus on Colton’s braids. The little tension that was there dissipated, and they all took the time to simply enjoy each other’s company. Calliope felt no need to hide her smile, Colton didn’t have an urge to kick Caduceus out of the room, and Caduceus himself couldn’t help but hum a soft tune joyfully. 

Calliope and Caduceus finished with Colton’s hair before he was done with the crown, but they didn’t interrupt him, instead sitting aside and watching him work. Small braids were intertwined with the main braid, and of course, flowers were expertly placed into the twists. It was all tied up at the end with Colton’s hair ribbon, and was staying in place surprisingly well.

When Colton completed the blue flower crown, Caduceus looked up to admire it, but it was soon out of view, because it was placed on his head.

Colton didn’t meet Caduceus' gaze as he placed the crown on his little brother’s head, and he was clearly trying to keep a straight face.

“Wearing these isn't my thing… so… you can take it. I don’t need it anyway.” Colton couldn’t meet anyone’s eyes, but Caduceus could tell Colton just wanted to thank him in some small way.

Caduceus giggled, nodding slowly as to not jostle the crown on his head.

Calliope stood from her place on the bed. “We should go show mom and dad! We all look super cool,” she proudly gestured to herself, then to her two brothers. She eyed Caduceus. “And then maybe you can tell us where you got them in the first place. Be sure to mention that _you_ got all of these flowers, because I’m not getting in trouble when we were in our room the whole time.”

Caduceus felt his arm being pulled, and he accepted Calliope’s help in standing. “Okay,” He chirped, squeezing his sister’s hand in his.

Colton was right behind them as they left the room, Calliope calling out for their parents.

Caduceus was still smiling, happy that his mission had succeeded.


End file.
